One-on-One with Edge of a Dream Co.’s President and Executive Producer

DeirdréDix Hunt

Since her first entrée in Hollywood as a PA for CBS News Anchor Connie Chung, Deirdré Dix Hunt has solidified herself as a game-changer in the industry. As the head of Edge of a Dream Company, her business is expanding to elevate established brands by creating new strategic alliances, entertainment /digital partnerships and developing diverse and inclusive opportunities.

What’s your most eye-opening experience?While working with the Act-1 Group, I had the opportunity to travel to Egypt with the Harvard Women’s Business League, and witnessed firsthand how women are viewed and treated in other parts of the world. That was a life-changing experience.

How is supplying content in today’s market different from how it was when you sold your first series?In today’s global marketplace, everyone is a content supplier. My job is to utilize my collective network and cable TV production experiences to create content that educates, motivates and inspires, yet is still commercially viable.

Who is the one person in the world you would love to spend the day with?Michelle Obama, because she elevated the way the World views women of color.

Who are your industry role models?Debbie Allen, because we’re both Howard grads, and because she really came up through the ranks – dancer, actor, producer, director – and has proven longevity in the industry. The late Dr. Maya Angelou, because it was an honor to work with her and just be in her presence. Jonathan Rogers, former CEO of Discovery, who bought a series from me for Discovery Health Channel (Our Health Matters). That’s where I learned my crucial communication skills.

What makes you stand out?I’m an avid reader (I still have newspaper subscriptions), a pop culture junkie and I’m very active in the industry in which I work. At the core of my success is the fact that I’m a risk taker, and for the most part, the risks have paid off. I also spend my clients’ money like it’s my own.

Do you have a favorite project that you’ve worked on?To My Sisters: A Gift for Life, which was a special about African-American women and breast cancer that included a host of top African-American female celebrities in television and film. The responses I received changed the trajectory of how I produce content. That’s when I knew how powerful providing vital information to an underserved audience could be.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?My father always said, “it’s more important to be human than it is to be important.” In this business, everybody wants his or her 15 minutes of fame. But my dad is right – it’s more important to be human.

Where did the name Edge of a Dream come from?The late Minnie Riperton and her husband, Dick Rudolph, wrote a song called “The Edge of a Dream.” That is my all-time favorite song, because it speaks to people that have big dreams and feel like the world is theirs for the taking. I truly believe that everyone’s dreams are possible.

Debbie Allen and Deirdré Dix Hunt going over script for the show, The Silent Crisis — Diabetes Among Us narrated by Debbie Allen and directed by DDH as part of her Discovery Channel series, OUR HEALTH MATTERS.

I got my DGA (Directors Guild) Card while working with the late Johnny Carson’s production company. Johnny Carson believed in empowering women.

I’m a rescue dog Mom. For 16 years I had a Lab. After he died, it took me a long time to get over it. A friend suggested I go to an animal shelter, and I picked the smallest puppy in the bunch because he reminded me of me, always being the smallest one. I named him Sammy after Sammy Davis, Jr.

I live and work in Hollywood, but my heart is in Missouri. There’s no place like home, which is why my hashtag is #showmegirl.